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| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | sun | above | buns | below! | |
| Steven’s Locks | 10-13 | 13-16 | 16-19 | 20-23 | |
| Hatchery/Wunderbar | 16-19 | 16-19 | 20-23 | 20-23 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | 10-13 | 13-16 | 16-19 | 20-23 | |
| Rufus, etc. | 10-13 | 10-13 | 10-13 | 10-13 | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | 10-13 | 10-13 | 10-13 | 10-13 | |
Gorge Wind Forecast
When I said “28-32” yesterday, I was thinking of a nice 3.2 day. When I went back to Swell for round two in the afternoon, I could have been on a 2.9. That was amazing! I love it when it’s blowing so hard that the spray is stinging my face. And I love it when the spray is tall enough that the rainbows appear! EXHILARATING! Today won’t be so nutso on the river, which is probably a good thing judging by how few people were able to play when the wind was at its windiest yesterday.
The gradient at 7am was running well below WRF-GFS predictions, leaving the forecast a matter of guesswork rather than model interpretation. Our setup is this: just a few clouds in Portland, a .08 gradient (pdx-dls), weak high pressure offshore, and a dry occluded front above the region with no cap in the atmosphere. So… let’s go with 16-19 from Viento to Swell early, with the wind filling in from Cascade Locks to Hood River by late morning. By early afternoon, we’ll have 21-24 (maybe a touch more) from Cascade Locks to Mosier. The Rowena stretch should join in. Further east is pretty questionable, with 10-13 today. Rufus, once again, looks 50-50 for the stronger wind.
Tomorrow looks complicated, never a great sign for easy-to-predict, consistent wind. A low pressure system moves inland to Vancouver Island and an accompanying offshore front moves closer, bringing cooler air to the western half of the state. Models suggest a stable atmosphere early, unstable midday, and developing cap in the afternoon. That leads me to believe we’ll see a solid dawn patrol of 25-29 from Viento to Hood River. The wind will likely drop off mid-morning through early afternoon to 21-25, returning mid-afternoon to 25-29. In the afternoon, the wind will fill in from Cascade Locks (as the clouds burn off) to Rufus. The Roosevelt area will probably max out at 22-25 on Sunday.
I don’t want to jinx it, but Monday is looking nearly ideal. The flow will be more westerly, marine clouds will be deeper, offshore pressure will be higher, and models indicate an all-day atmospheric cap. The only question on Monday is how far inland the marine clouds will make it – if they get past Swell, it’ll be gusty there. If not, it’ll be steady. We’ll have dawn patrol from the end of the low clouds eastward at 26-29, probably Swell to Doug’s, but possibly Mosier to Rufus. By late morning, we’ll have 28-32+ from (the end of the low clouds) to Roosevelt. The Cascade Locks area will slowly build to a potential of 26-30 as the clouds burn off. In a delightful twist, the general setup for the next week remains similar, with varying moderate to strong west wind every day. I hope you are in shape for windsports, or you’ll be begging for a rest day.
Kikteboard for Cancer and Camp Koru Need You!
Kiteboard for Cancer happens July 14th through 16th at Hood River’s Event Site. They are still looking for a few volunteers. If you have some time, sign up now. If time is difficult to come by, make a donation to support camps for young adult survivors of cancer. I donated already. Your turn!
Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast Beta Test Forecast
Jones Saturday: 23-26. Jones Sunday: 15-18. Jones Monday: 22-25. Sauvie’s Saturday: 11-14. Sunday: 11-14. Monday: 15-18. Coast (north/central/south). Saturday: 15-20/15-20/30-35, W swell 2′ @ 7 seconds. Sunday: 5-10/15-20/30+, SW swell 2 ‘ @ 16 seconds, or perhaps W swell 2′ @ 9 seconds. Big difference there… Monday: 15-20/15-20/30+, NW swell 4’ @ 8 seconds.
Random Morning Thoughts
I was reflecting on boredom last night. I have a couple of theories on it. First, we get bored when we’re not occupied with something because our mind wants us to avoid what is just below the surface. We become restless, motivated to do something in order to avoid barely-suppressed emotions.
I suspect boredom also arises when we are filtering out much of our experience. See, when the mind learns that certain inputs are ordinary, safe, and repetitive, it learns to filter them out. It then seeks other stimulation, and not finding it, becomes restless. I believe this may have to do with an genetic desire to learn more in order to be more likely to survive.
We can combat this by directing our attention to seeing more details about what surrounds us in a given present moment. For me, last night, it was letting in more details about the flower arrangements I was seeing, the non-verbals of my friends in my field of view, and the energy field of the speaker to whom I was listening.
The world around you contains much detail that you are filtering out. It’s possible to use each of your senses to notice more, keeping your mind more entertained. This will allow you to stay further grounded in the present moment, more fully experiencing life without your mind’s encouragement to do more, right now. Just be. There’s a lot of amazing stuff hidden right in front of you, perhaps even contained within you. Have an awesome day.
Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist (but I could be 27 graduate school credits from now). I am your weather forecaster. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, and consult with your actual therapist about your mental health issues. One other thing: I plan to keep doing this forecast indefinitely, even when I am a therapist.
Gorge Weather Forecast
Sunny Saturday: temps near 60 early and in the upper 80’s this afternoon. Moderate west wind. No rainbows. Sunny Sunday: temps near 60 early and near 80 in the afternoon. Strong west wind. No rainbows. Monday may start off partly cloudy but should turn sunny. Temps will be near 60 early and in the mid 70’s in the afternoon. Very strong west wind. No rainbows. Etc. Etc. Etc.
For weather specifically directed at travel through the Gorge, please visit Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
All I have to report today is that I’m getting very, very antsy to ride the Bennett Pass to Sawtooth shuttle. 50 or so miles, 5500′ of climbing. Ha ha. Some shuttle ride!
Upcoming Events
All this wind is great news for the Laser Masters Sailboat Championships in Cascade Locks today and tomorrow. Lasers are light wind boats, so if you want to see some amazing boat handling, check out those races in the strong wind. There’s a free kite, board and foil demo at the Hood River spit today and tomorrow, brought to you by Windance. There’s free BBQ and beer at that demo.
Big Winds has a free Faraday E-bike demo today, so if you’ve been watching people zipping around on pedal-asist bikes, swing by and give one a try between noon and 5. They’ll have free beer for you, but remember: cycling intoxicated can get you a DUI.
There’s a trail run at Post Canyon at 8 this morning, a women’s bike ride at Mountain View Cycles at 9, and there’s a kids standup paddle race at noon. Your kids will need to provide their own gear for that race. Meet at the Big Winds shack at the Event Site. There’s also a half-day meditation retreat, 1pm to 5pm, at Yoga Samadhi today.
Looking at tomorrow, there are free yoga classes at 9am at Samadhi, 4pm at Pure Yoga in The Dalles, and 6pm at Pure Yoga in Hood River. There’s also pickup touch rugby for kids and adults at the Hood River Marina at 11am.
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
The Mt. Hood snow forecast is currently on vacation. It will stay on vacation until I deem it to be close enough to winter that we need a Mt. Hood snow forecast. Be safe out there on the snow this summer!
Have an awesome day today!
Temira